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Seed · 2026 · Confidential

Dating Deserves Better. So We Built It.

First modern dating app built around relational dynamics with therapy-rooted matching algorithm.

Quirks Dating

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Why Another Dating App? · 01

The research is clear. The apps just missed the memo.

0%

of relationship conflict is personality-rooted.

Gottman Institute longitudinal study · 1976 to present · 40,000+ couples studied, 3,000+ tracked longitudinally

Decades of research shows match on friction management. Modern apps built their architecture around unrelated user preferences. We built around the science.

The Problem · 02

The $7.8B dating industry
has a retention crisis

Day-30 Retention
5%

of users are still active a month after install.

Swipe Burnout
78%

report emotional fatigue from current dating apps.

Ghosting
60%

have been ghosted in the last 12 months.

40% of users cite "inability to find a good connection" as their top reason for leaving apps.

Forbes Health, 2024

POOR INPUTS = BAD MATCHES · 03

Algorithms can't predict compatibility from surface-level inputs

Tinder profile creation screen
Bumble profile creation screen
Hinge profile creation screen showing biking prompt

Every dating app on the market matches on what people like.
None match on how they respond when life gets hard.

The Insight · 04

Interests Compatibility

What apps optimize for
Profile prompt
"They both like biking 🚴‍♀️"
Match.

A shared hobby tells you nothing about how two people will navigate stress, conflict, or repair.

What predicts a relationship
The flat-tire test
"One of them gets a flat on a bike ride together. Now what?!?"
 Who takes charge?
 Who stays calm?
 Who repairs after the fight?

Compatibility lives in friction patterns, not preferences. That's what Quirks measures.

The Heart of the Crisis · 05

Incumbents modeled on slot machines & designed for dopamine addiction

Tinder co-founder admitted the swipe was modeled on B.F. Skinner's slot machine psychology, a claim later cited in a 2024 federal class-action lawsuit alleging Match Group designed its apps for addiction, not connection. Reported by NPR · CBS · Reuters
2.5×
Human Cost

more likely to report psychological distress.

Dopamine Loop
Swipe.
Wait.
Repeat.
Trigger
Reward
Crave
Reaction
The Solution · 06

Meet our Relational Dynamics Engine (RDE) Patent Pending

One pipeline, three stages. Therapist-curated traits feed a proprietary scoring engine that ranks compatibility on relational success outcomes.

Stage 01

Preset Therapist Inputs

Friction Traits
  • Usually late
  • Need control
  • Speak my mind
  • …and more
Stability Traits
  • Tactful
  • Assertive
  • Patient
  • …and more
Sample Quirks & Perks displayed. Not exhaustive.
Stage 02 · Scoring Layers

Therapist-in-the-Loop RDE Scoring

Layer 01
RDE Trait Filter Mapping
Layer 02
Relational Stability Trait Scoring Added +
Layer 03
Relational Friction Trait Penalty Deducted −
Output Cumulative Quirks Match Score

Reinforced by harmonic scoring* to ensure true, reciprocal connection by mathematically penalizing one-sided compatibility.

*see addendum

Stage 03 · Output

Ranked Queue

01
Match A
Shown First
0
02
Match B
Queued
0
03
Match C
Queued
0
04
Match D
Queued
0
05
Match E
Queued
0
Below threshold: Hidden
Illustrative layout. Totals will vary.
Core Differentiators · 07

Category-defining & industry-first mechanisms.

Mechanism
Patent Pending
Relational Dynamics Engine
Algorithm matches people on stabilizing relationship dynamics.
Targets
Choice Overload & Unequal Visibility
Designed For
Higher Retention
Mechanism
Patent Pending
The Maybe Mechanism
First alternative to Yes/No. Governed by an indecision timer.
Targets
Impulsive Swiping & Rampant Ghosting
Designed For
Lower Burnout
Mechanism
Outcome-Trained AI
Real outcomes build on our therapist-built engine.
Targets
Echo-Chamber Algorithms & Preference Bias
Designed For
Compounding Match Quality
Market Opportunity · 08

A category shift only matters if the market is worth winning.

$7.8B
Global TAM
Online Dating · 2024
$3.2B
US TAM
Largest single-country market
0M
Global dating app users (2024)
with 0 million paying for premium features
The Evolution

Quirks is defining the next category of dating apps

Gen 1.0 · 1995
Quiz-heavy
Match.com. eHarmony. Web-based, high onboarding friction platforms.
Gen 2.0 + 2.5 · 2012 to Today
Swipe Anyone
Tinder. Bumble. Hinge. Volume and speed. Reaction as the value. Pseudo-psych labels not used in matching.
The Moat · 09

Established Players Face Structural Hurdles

Mapping
01

A Significant Headstart

Two years of proprietary trait mapping. Scoring how Friction and Stability traits actually interact in real relationships. Not a list.
A weighted system.

Time
02

Bad Data Compounded

Incumbents are iterating on a decade of swipe-trained data while rebuilding brand trust.
Outcome-trained data from day one.

Category
03

First to Define, Wins

We are defining Gen 3.0 by introducing relational dynamics matching. Own the language, the network.
Own the user mental model.

Match Group's CEO publicly stated Tinder revenue will decline again in 2026 while they run user experience tests.

Use of Funds · 10

A $3M raise.
18 months of runway

$3M raise
18-Month Runway
GTM Strategy · 11

Three phases. One thesis

Capital deploys across two cities and 18 months, each phase carrying a budget envelope and a runway boundary.

Beachhead
Ages 30 to 59 ~45% therapy-engaged ~41% paid for premium dating
Marketing focus. App open to all 18+.
$1.1M
GTM Allocation
Two cities · 18 months
01
Phase 01 · M1 to M6

Denver Alpha

Pop ~335K $600K Allocation M1 to M18 Active
M6 MAU projection18K to 28K
M6 Downloads37K to 62K

Founder-warm network.

02
Phase 02 · M6 to M18

Portland Launch

Pop ~312K $435K Allocation M6 to M18 (13 mo)
M18 MAU projection25K to 42K
M18 Downloads55K to 95K

M5 gate: Denver ≥ 12K MAU.

03
Phase 03 · M12 to M18

Series A Trigger

$15M-$20M raise target
M18 Combined MAU70K to 110K
Endorsing Therapists by M1210 - 15

Match-to-date conversion validates the algorithm-first thesis.

Acquisition Channels · 18-Month Aggregate
$1.035M across five channels
31%
IRL Events
$318K
28%
Paid Social
$288K
21%
Influencer + Therapist
$223K
15%
PR & Media
$155K
5%
Creative
$51K
M18 unit economics: Blended CPI $4.04 to $7.00 · Blended cost per MAU $9.55 to $15.00. Both ranges sit inside industry-defensible bands (Adjust 2026 State of Dating Apps; Dating Pro premium niche CAC).
Projections · Two-City Combined
Ranges anchored to 2012 to 2016 dating app comparables
Cumulative Downloads
260K 130K 0 Portland launches 5K–10K 18K–32K 42K–72K 70K–120K 90K–160K 150K–260K M1 M3 M6 M9 M12 M18
Monthly Active Users
110K 55K 0 Portland launches Hinge DC M6 ~20K 2K–4K 8K–15K 20K–32K 32K–52K 42K–72K 70K–110K M1 M3 M6 M9 M12 M18
Methodology: Ranges, not point estimates. No 2012 to 2016 dating app comparable publicly disclosed audited install figures at these milestones, so the comparables anchor the method, not the numbers. M6 sanity check: 42K to 72K downloads against combined 30 to 59 population of ~647K equals 6.5% to 11.1% demographic penetration. Defensible without being aspirational.
Detailed methodology, per-city projections, channel breakdowns, and pre-mortem available in GTM-Detailed Plan
Revenue Model · 12

We charge for clarity,
not likes

Three tiers. No pay-to-be-seen. Revenue scales with depth of intent, not desperation.

Tier 01

Starter Spark

Free

The Acquisition Engine. A no-friction entry point designed for rapid user growth and proprietary data gathering.

Tier 03

Soulful Sync

$14.99 /mo

The LTV Flagship. A high-margin tier leveraging AI-driven engagement and advanced trait filtering.

Optional Add-Ons as needed by payment tier: 1 Profile Boost: $2.99  |  Extra "Maybe" slot: $1.49 each  |  AI-Driven Quirks's Resonant Opener message: $0.99

Competitors Charge: Tinder: $24.99 to $49.99  |  Bumble: $16.99 to $80.99  |  Hinge: $32.99 to $49.99

Team · 13

The nerds behind it all

Aastha Mehta
Founder · CEO

Aastha Mehta

Product DNA

15+ years leading consumer mobile app and eCommerce projects at global companies. Founded Boulder MarKit, scaling to 16+ client portfolios. Brings full-stack operator DNA, product, marketing, and execution, to Quirks.

Sparked by a terrible date and the realization that she was caught in a cycle of mindless swiping, she founded Quirks. Her mission was clear: fix a broken system where a generation is learning to date through apps designed for addiction, and bring genuine human connection back to digital matching.

Tom Plunkett
CFO

Tom Plunkett

Serial CFO

Serial startup CFO with 30+ years scaling tech companies from early-stage to exit. Led capital raises and successful exits including an IPO and acquisition. Previously CFO at Arryved, where he and Aastha built their working relationship.

Re-entered dating after 20 years of marriage and experienced the clickbait model firsthand. He didn't need a pitch deck to know the industry was broken.

Anthony Surace
Engineering

Anthony Surace

Backend Expert

15+ years building full-stack systems across startups and scale-ups. He is a former CTO in the FinTech sector and has led IT and development teams for consumer-facing apps and frontier industrial tech companies, with a background in AI/ML.

Though he met his wife on a dating app, he waded through fake profiles and poor matches to find her. Joined Quirks because he knows firsthand the technology can do better.

Built in collaboration with a licensed therapist

In Closing · 14

Quirks isn't about
a feature update.
It's an industry shift

We'd love a conversation. About the architecture, the market, the path to Series A, or anything you want to push back on.

Book a call →
Direct line
(720) 266-0168
Quirks
© 2026 Quirks Dating LLC · Confidential
Patent Pending · USPTO
Key Stats & Sources · 15

Every claim, sourced.

The Problem
~5%
30-day retention rate for dating apps
Adjust (2025)
78%
Report burnout or mental exhaustion
Forbes Health / OnePoll (2024)
~60%
Have been ghosted while dating
Forbes / Statista (2023)
Algorithm Failure
69%
Of couple conflict is personality-rooted, not situational
Gottman Institute
40%
Cite inability to find a good connection as top reason for leaving
Forbes Health (2024)
~11%
Say their app is good at matching them
MeasuringU (2024)
Market Opportunity
$7.8B
Global TAM. Online dating services
Mordor Intelligence (2026)
$3.2B
US TAM. Online dating services
IBISWorld (2026)
360M
Global dating app paying and free-tier users (2024)
Business of Apps (2026)
Target Market (30 to 59)
~41%
Have paid for premium dating features (30+)
Pew Research (2023)
~45%
Are therapy-engaged adults
Blended est. (multiple sources)
2.5x
More likely to report psychological distress
BMC Psychology (2020)
Comprehensive sources, additional research, and supporting documentation available in Addendum